Meaning & use
health
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The state of the body and mind, especially whether a person is free from sickness and feels well.
Grammar: Not used with an or an: she is in good health.
Patterns
- in good health
- bad for your health
Regular exercise is good for your health.
He has been in poor health since the surgery.
Her mental health improved after she changed jobs.
noununcountablefigurative
The condition of something that is not a person, showing how well it is working or succeeding.
Grammar: Usually followed by of: the health of the economy.
Patterns
- the health of something
Economists worry about the health of the housing market.
The health of the river depends on clean water.
Strong sales point to the company's financial health.
noununcountable
Medical care and the services that look after people's physical and mental wellbeing.
Grammar: Often used before another noun: health service.
Patterns
- health care
- health insurance
She works in public health.
The government plans to spend more on health.
Health is the top issue in this election.
interjectionfixed phraseold-fashioned
A short wish for good fortune said when raising a glass; usually used as to your health.
Grammar: Appears in the fixed phrase: to your health.
Patterns
- to your health
Here's to your health, my friend!
They raised their glasses: To your health!
He toasted the bride's health.
Common combinations
- mental health
- Sleep is vital for mental health.
- health insurance
- The job offers health insurance and paid leave.
- public health
- Clean water is a public health issue.
- in good health
- My grandfather is in good health for his age.
- health risk
- Smoking is a serious health risk.
- improve your health
- Walking daily can improve your health.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wellbeing
- Wellbeing is broader and includes happiness and comfort, while health focuses on the body and mind being free of illness.
- fitness
- Fitness means being strong enough for physical activity, which is narrower than health.
- condition
- Condition needs an adjective like good or poor to show health, whereas health alone suggests wellness.
- vitality
- Vitality means energy and liveliness, and it is more about spirit than medical state.
Opposites
Word family
- healthy adjective
- in good health
- healthful adjective
- good for your health
- healthily adverb
- in a way that keeps you well
- unhealthy adjective
- not well, or bad for health
- healthcare noun
- medical services
Commonly confused: health or healthy vs healthful? health or heal?
health vs healthy vs healthful
A person is healthy, while food that helps health is more precisely healthful, though healthy is also used.
health vs heal
Heal is a verb meaning to become well again, and health is the noun for the general state.
Practice
Doctors say that regular sleep is important for good ___.
Choose one answer.
Health is the noun needed after good. Healthy is an adjective and cannot follow good here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “health”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.